


Night Swimming

by kueble



Category: The Witcher (TV), Wiedźmin | The Witcher - All Media Types
Genre: Established Relationship, M/M, Seasonal Affective Disorder
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-30
Updated: 2020-11-30
Packaged: 2021-03-09 19:55:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 787
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27801889
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kueble/pseuds/kueble
Summary: Lambert takes care of Aiden when he's a little crazier than normal.
Relationships: Aiden/Lambert (The Witcher)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 64





	Night Swimming

**Author's Note:**

> written for the tumblr prompt: If you're currently taking prompts can I have "seasonal depression" by Mary Lambert maybe with Lambden?

**I went down to the frozen creek  
** Ice like lace on cold winter sheet  
It's been dark for days, haven't seen the light 

It takes Lambert too long to realize Aiden is missing. He hasn’t seen him since they all went their separate ways to clean up after this morning’s training, and that was hours ago. He’s searched the entire keep, and the cat is nowhere to be found. They have maybe an hour until it gets dark and the temperature will drop significantly, so he bundles up and heads outside.

He mumbles under his breath and pulls his cloak tighter around himself as he stomps around the inner walls of the keep. He was honestly hoping Aiden would be in the courtyard, but it doesn’t look like that’s the case. It must have snowed since he left, because there’s not visible tracks. Well, he’s not a witcher for nothing. He focuses and is able to pick up the lingering scent of pine needles and cinnamon. He follows it, grumbling as it leads him out through the hole in the brick wall. They really should patch that up one of these years.

Lambert sniffs at the air and starts walking down towards the lake. Because nothing beats a frozen fucking lake in the middle of winter, right? Only Aiden has been acting weird the past week or so - weirder than normal - and Lambert’s actually a little worried. He picks up his pace and is almost at the lakeshore when he sees a burst of igni light up the evening sky. Now he’s sprinting and makes it just in time to see Aiden tugging off his boots.

“What the fuck are you doing?” he shouts out, reaching out to grab the boot Aiden was about to drop. He looks like a mess, his eyes wild and half his curls have escaped the leather band he uses to tie them back.

“Er,” Aiden grins slowly at him and then shrugs. “Night swimming?” He gestures towards the small hole in the sheet of ice covering the lake.

“Are you kidding me?” Lambert asks with a growl. He throws the boot at Aiden, who clutches it to his chest protectively, and steps between the other man and the lake.

“I mean, it probably won’t kill me,” Aiden counters quickly. Lambert just rolls his eyes and looks up the heavens. He’d say a silent prayer, but no one has listened to him in years.

“One, you’re an idiot. Two, not dead leaves plenty of room for hypothermia, which - in case you forgot - we can still get. Three, if you have a deathwish, there’s more exciting ways to go,” Lambert informs him, holding up fingers as he counts.

“I just...haven’t felt a lot lately. I figured maybe this would spark something,” he mutters, refusing to meet Lambert’s eyes.

Well fuck. It’s so much easier to take care of his lover when they’re out on the path. As much as he grouses about it, he actually enjoys being home with his, for lack of a better term, family. But they’ve been wrapped up in training and repairs and stocking supplies before the larger snowfalls cage them in for the rest of the season. He shouldn’t have let himself get so distracted, though.

Aiden is one of the toughest men Lambert’s ever met, but he gets thrown out of whack sometimes. Lambert’s not sure if anyone else ever stuck around long enough to pull him out of his head like Lambert can when he gets like this. And if that doesn’t just fan the flames of rage that are always simmering just beneath the surface; the constant fire in Lambert’s gut. But there’s no one to fight here - can’t fight someone’s _mind_ \- so he just takes a deep breath and reaches down to pull his own boots off.

“Huh?” Aiden questions, still clinging tightly to his own boots.

“Can’t very well let your cute ass get frozen in the lake, so how about this? We race back to the keep barefoot. Should be enough to get your blood pumping. Then we can curl up in front of the hearth in the dining room and let the fire make them all tingly and shit. Work for you?” Lambert asks with a grin. Aiden - the crazy bastard that he is - doesn’t even answer him, just lets out a holler and takes off. Lambert chases after him, cackling as he fights to keep his footing in the fresh snow. He can already feel his feet going numb, but happiness is pouring off Aiden in waves, so he just runs faster.

Besides, if this doesn’t get their blood pumping, he has a few more ideas up his sleeve.

**Author's Note:**

> Come play with me on [Tumblr.](https://kueble.tumblr.com/)


End file.
